The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 50 no 1 April 2011
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Cera mic Spaces<br />
Right: Christopher Mason. Untitled. 2010 to<br />
present. ceramic. cardboard<br />
h.65cm. w.65cm d.20cm; Private Collection<br />
Below nght: Christopher Mason In the Arts<br />
Project Australia studio<br />
Photos: courtesy Arts Project Australia<br />
Minutes." Sneezing Woman demonstrates his love <strong>of</strong> the<br />
sneeze. and his ability to render the exterior and underlying<br />
structure <strong>of</strong> the voluptuous female body.<br />
Mason is quite sensitive to the coldness <strong>of</strong> winter, and<br />
says that he makes his volumi<strong>no</strong>us women even larger<br />
during this time to make himself feel better, in an effort to<br />
negate the bad weather.<br />
Mason has shown in many high pr<strong>of</strong>ile exhibitions,<br />
including solo shows Michelle and <strong>The</strong> Chris Mason<br />
Show at Arts Project Australia Gallery, Melbourne, and<br />
group show Erotica. curated by Jessica Williams, for James<br />
Makin Gallery in Melbourne.<br />
Impeccably refined detail is observed in Mason's forms,<br />
the hair for instance. or the texture <strong>of</strong> the cellulite. Mason<br />
works from two-dimensional images he sources from the<br />
internet, <strong>of</strong>ten using only one angle <strong>of</strong> a body to create<br />
these complex three-dimensional forms.<br />
Much has been written about the importance <strong>of</strong> touch as part <strong>of</strong> the human experience <strong>of</strong> love. This<br />
tactility is part <strong>of</strong> what draws me to working in clay, and I would suspect many ceramicists would feel<br />
the same way.<br />
I asked Mason what he'd do if he weren't able to make these large women. He agreed that it'd be<br />
frustrating for him <strong>no</strong>t to do his artwork. and said "I'd have to carve them from styr<strong>of</strong>oam or sculpture<br />
plaster like Ron Mueck."<br />
Mason also has a wealth <strong>of</strong> k<strong>no</strong>wledge about snakes and can easily tell a female from a male. One<br />
<strong>of</strong> his current projects is recreating a large female Vietnamese Reticulated Python he calls Hong Mai, in<br />
his studio at home. He makes each delicate scale from cardboard. <strong>The</strong> lifelike nature <strong>of</strong> the artwork is<br />
deliciously terrifying. like watching a horror movie, conveying completely the cold reptilian nature <strong>of</strong> the<br />
snake.<br />
THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS APRIL <strong>2011</strong> 85
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